What drives North Korea's sudden embrace of involvement in Ukraine war?

North Korea’s previously covert involvement in directly supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine is now openly embraced by Pyongyang’s leadership, reflecting shifting realities on the battlefield and in global geopolitics, benefiting both Moscow and the DPRK.

Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un’s award ceremony and this week's visit to a memorial for troops in action highlighted this shift, continuing a trend that began in April when North Korea first admitted sending soldiers to help Moscow repel a Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Kursk region. An article published by Newsweek which delves into the Republic's shift in approaching the war notes, that this admission came roughly six months after US and South Korean intelligence first reported that North Korean forces had arrived in Russia.

Since then, the joint Russian-North Korean military operation has recaptured much of the territory which, according to the author, is seen as a key bargaining chip for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who hopes to reclaim some of the nearly one-fifth of his country occupied by Russia in a future peace settlement.

For North Korea—officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea—which signed an unprecedented mutual defence treaty with Russia in June of last year, these battlefield gains reinforce a narrative reminiscent of Moscow-Pyongyang cooperation during the Korean War eight decades ago.

“I think this reflects unfortunately the gains on the ground that Russian and DPRK troops have made in the Kursk territory,” Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Newsweek. “They have created a narrative of victorious allies and the first success of this newly rejuvenated military treaty relationship.”

“Initially, the progress was not apparent, leading the North Koreans not to disclose,” Cha added, recalling his service in multiple US government roles and as a US representative during the 2003–2007 Six-Party Talks. “But now, they are crystal clear about their being in bed with the Russians.”

While North Korea has long been closely associated with China—previously its only treaty ally—the DPRK’s ties to Russia predate that alliance. The Soviet Union helped establish North Korea as a rival to US-backed South Korea after World War II, setting the stage for one of the Cold War’s deadliest confrontations.

In a letter sent to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this week marking the 80th anniversary of the Korean War, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui praised “the internationalist feats performed by the officers and men of the Red Army who shed their blood in the fight for Korea's liberation.”

Now, with Russia waging war on its own borders, North Korea’s deployment represents a milestone as it marks the first major active combat operation of the Korean People’s Army since the Korean War.

It also underscores what Cha described as North Korea’s “revisionist intentions—that is, it is not simply content to have its nuclear weapons and be left alone.” He noted that the Moscow-Pyongyang axis is, in some respects, “more concerning” than the traditional China-North Korea alignment, as Beijing has historically exercised more restraint in military actions and nuclear activities.

“Moscow sees a transactional relationship where they get munitions and missiles and troops,” Cha said. “They pay the North Koreans in food, fuel, and weapons technology and they really do not care what the North Koreans do.”

By Nazrin Sadigova